Hannah Reed, who brought the windjammer T.F. Oakes from Hongkong to New York despite storms, scurvy, and the grave illness of her husband
Artist Ron Druett
Selected Works
Biography
The story of the extraordinary -- but unacknowledged -- Polynesian who ensured the success of Cook's first discovery voyage
Castaway drama
A gripping tale of two starkly contrasting castaway experiences
Controversial castaways of Campbell Island
The ordeal of the castaways, and the political fall-out that followed their rescue
Wiki Coffin Mystery #1
Murder most foul in Portsmouth, Virginia, is solved in the middle of the Atlantic.
Wiki Coffin Mystery #2
Pirate-hunting on the coast of Brazil
Wiki Coffin Mystery #3
Wiki Coffin must clear his father's name of murder in this third seafaring mystery set aboard the U.S. Exploring Expedition.
Wiki Coffin Mystery #4
Contracted to track down the man who stole a sealing schooner, instead Wiki Coffin finds a skull at the foot of a sacred Gualichu tree in the stark hinterland of the Rio Negro, and joins the Patagonian gauchos to solve a grotesque murder
Wiki Coffin Mystery #5
A murderous encounter in the icy seas south of Cape Horn
Revenge at Sea
Murder and rebellion on the whaleship Sharon.
Women Under Sail
Captains' wives at sea.
Quick Links
The Mystery Place
Home of the world's best short mystery fiction
Kindle Publishing Hints
A step-by-step guide to publishing your novel on Kindle
Random House New Zealand
Publishers of TUPAIA, THE REMARKABLE STORY OF CAPTAIN COOK'S POLYNESIAN NAVIGATOR
Hen Frigates
Is there a seafaring wife on board? Ships speaking. Courtesy Ron Druett
A "hen frigate," traditionally, was any ship with the captain's wife on board, and Hen Frigates is the dramatic and largely untold story of the enterprising women who sailed on oceangoing merchant ships throughout the nineteenth century. These vessels were minature worlds--wildly colorful, dangerous, and, most of all, romantic--where voyaging was a strenuous challenge under even the best of conditions. Gales, hurricanes, collisions, and fire at sea, along with mysterious epidemics of exotic diseases, were feared by all on board, but the women had the added burden of childbirth, followed by the challenge of rearing babies and small children in that most unhomelike place, a sailing ship at sea.
“Druett paints a vivid portrait of the unique challenges faced by seafaring females. The breezy narrative provides the reader with an intriguing entrée into an exotic lifestyle choice.”--Booklist.
"Hen Frigates is a remarkable collage of interesting (and sometimes horrifying) stories about hardships a modern woman would find it almost impossible to endure, and displays of courage that astonished me. Strong women have not only recently been liberated, they seem to have been strong and accomplished under the old restrictions imposed upon the sex."
--Doris Grumbach.
Awarded the New York Public Library "Best Book to Remember" prize, 1999.
“Druett paints a vivid portrait of the unique challenges faced by seafaring females. The breezy narrative provides the reader with an intriguing entrée into an exotic lifestyle choice.”--Booklist.
"Hen Frigates is a remarkable collage of interesting (and sometimes horrifying) stories about hardships a modern woman would find it almost impossible to endure, and displays of courage that astonished me. Strong women have not only recently been liberated, they seem to have been strong and accomplished under the old restrictions imposed upon the sex."
--Doris Grumbach.
Awarded the New York Public Library "Best Book to Remember" prize, 1999.